


Women's Work

by Johnstonmara353



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24084778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johnstonmara353/pseuds/Johnstonmara353
Summary: Andrea’s washing Daryl’s clothes. What the others didn't know is that Andrea did plenty of Women's Work.
Relationships: Andrea/Daryl Dixon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Women's Work

Women’s Work

Andrea/Daryl Dixon

Summary: Andrea’s washing Daryl’s clothes.

Andrea sat alone, down at the pond washing clothes. Letting her feet dangle in the water as she scrubbed the blood and guts out of Daryl’s jeans. Her clothes already washed and in her laundry basket ready for the clothes line. She loved that time of the morning. The time when the world seemed to stand still. She could concentrate on the things she needed to do for herself and Daryl. Things that he needed her to do for him, and she did them gladly. Despite what the others thought, she did plenty of ‘women’s work’ that they didn’t know about. She got up before dawn every day, usually as Daryl was leaving to go hunt, and wash his clothes from the day before. Washing her own clothes first, usually due to the fact that his smelled of sweat, blood, and death. She always tried her hardest to get the blood stains out of his jeans and cargo pants. Every now and then she would be successful, but usually she could only get them to fade. The same with her clothes. Everything she owned now had dark blood stains littering them. What was most important for her was to get the smell out. When she was successful at that it was a small victory for her. Even if it went unnoticed by everyone else. 

When Daryl would go on his random runs into neighboring towns and bring clothes back to camp, she was the one who would normally wash them. It was usually early in the morning when she would begin her day, allowing them the entire day to dry on the line. Finishing long before anyone awoke for the day. No one knew she was the one that had been filling up the clothes lines every morning. No one suspected she was the one going into the woods and laying out the fresh berries most mornings. And she preferred it that way. She didn’t want the attention. Didn’t want them to know that she enjoyed it. She enjoyed taking care of them without them knowing. She enjoyed doing laundry before the sun came up and exploring the silent woods searching for food. But most of all, she loved taking care of Daryl. A feeling that had surprised her at first. She had been domestic before the apocalypse, and she never thought she would have the opportunity to learn. But Daryl made it easy. It didn’t matter how shitty a job she did at whatever task she tried, he thanked her. He always showed her that he was appreciative. It encouraged her to want to do things better. Wanting to make his days easier. 

Andrea enjoyed those first few hours alone. Listening to the insects chirp in the distance. Watching the gentle ripples as the fish would come to the surface to investigate what was invading their space. She enjoyed the simple feeling of nature surrounding her as she scrubbed the jean material in her lap. Every now and then, when she planned to go fishing instead of washing clothes, Daryl would stay with her. Waking her an hour before she planned in order to have his own alone time with her. Showing his appreciation by loving her body. They didn’t get much of that these days. Just time to spend holding one another. His arms wrapped around her body. His sweet kisses on her neck. It was a moment just between the two of them. That morning, they didn’t get those moment. She had been so sure the night before that Daryl would wake her by grinding his erection into her ass, shoving his callused hand between her legs. But she had woken up alone. The pillow next to her already cold. She only noticed him as he was slipping on his boots. 

Daryl allowed her to sleep until he was leaving. Awaking her with a kiss to her forehead before he was off for the days hunt. She had wanted to reach for him and bring him back to bed. Wanting to suggest they fish for the day instead. But she said nothing. They both had things to do. They would come together later. She stretched as she began searching for a pair of cut off shorts to wear down to the pond. Something she wouldn’t care to get dirty while she cleaned the rest of their clothes. Finally, finding the one pair of jean shorts that she owned and one of Daryl old t-shirts, she grabbed the laundry basket of their clothes and began the five minute walk to the dock. Hershel had given her an old washboard that his grandmother had used. He had it stored away in the attack. She was grateful for the gesture and kept it stored away at the bottom of their clothes basket. 

As she got to the end of the dock, recent rains raising the water to allow her to sit on the dock and wash their clothes, she placed the basket to her side and sat down on the cold wood. She hated sitting on the rocks. She either ended up getting her clothes soaked or having bugs crawling all over her bare legs and feet. She had spent enough time while they were in the Quarry sitting on rocks washing out Amy’s clothes. She usually ended up with cuts and bruises on the back of her thighs. 

The horses joining her shortly after her arrival. It was an every morning occurrence. They would sit and drink while she concentrated on her chores. Keeping watch for her. And in her opinion they did fairly well. Before Daryl could sneak up on her on those rare occasions he returned early from his hunt, the horses would let her know. Blowing hot air out their noses loudly in her direction. It never stopped him from trying though. 

While washing out the mud stains from Daryl’s pants, the horses began to scratch the ground. Kicking dirt up behind them. Neighing softly in her direction. Their heads turning to look at the intruder and back at her. Andrea figured it was Daryl and continued scrubbing the pants that were draped across her bare legs. Putting all of her efforts into getting the blood and mud off his jeans. He needed to wear them tomorrow. Especially if he rolled around in the mud like he did with the ones he was wearing the day before. 

Andrea didn’t turn around when she heard the boot steps getting closer. She could tell by the sound of the steps that it was a person and not a walker. She almost smiled to herself at the thought of Daryl coming back early. “Thought it might be you,” the voice said softly with that southern twang. 

It wasn’t Daryl. Andrea bowed her head. She had been caught. 

As she glanced behind her, Rick’s tired face was all she saw besides the night sky. He had a grin on his voice that annoyed her instantly. He seemed proud of himself. She turned her concentration back to the pants sitting in her lap. “Didn’t want anyone to bother me.”

Rick rolled up the ends of his pants and sat on the edge of the dock with her. Sitting his gun down between them. He had known it was Andrea from the very first day laundry appeared on the line while everyone was supposed to be asleep. He had caught her coming back to camp numerous times, but he never said anything. But he wanted to at least try to get her to spend a little more time with the group. He wanted her to feel as if she belonged somewhere. “You could always join Lori and Carol in the morning. Spend some time with living people for a change,” he said, nudging her shoulder, and smiling at her. “Spend some time outside those woods for a while?”

Andrea rolled her eyes. She didn’t appreciate suggestions on what others thought she should be doing with her time. She wasn’t bothering anyone. She wasn’t hurting anything. She brought back fish every other day on her own. She brought back fresh berries from the woods on her own. She had no desire to sit around camp doing laundry and dishes. “I have other things to do in the morning,” she replied, still scrubbing the mud from Daryl’s pants. Taking her new frustration out on the fabric. 

He laughed. He knew she was a loner. She would participate in group things when she needed to and communicated well with them in an emergency. But she didn’t spend any spare time with the other women. She preferred to be in the woods with Daryl or assisting Dale around the farm. But he knew what was going on that day. And nothing on his radar needed Andrea’s assistance. “Like what? Daryl’s off in the woods. Shane’s going on a run into town with Maggie and Glenn. Dale and I are watching the property while Hershel does whatever he normally does.” He knocked her foot with his. “You could always look in on Beth while Maggie is gone.”

Andrea continued to scrub the pants that were sitting across her lap. The last place she wanted to be was in that house sitting with Beth. Maggie would kill her for going anywhere near her little sister. And Andrea was anything but maternal. Never spent time with any of her co-workers children. Was never a teenage babysitter. “Dale said he would teach me to fix the RV in the morning.”

Rick shrugged. He knew he wasn’t gonna be able to convince her to join in the other women’s activities, but Rick was nothing if not persistent. “I’m just saying they’d like the company.”

Andrea scuffed. Her agitation and frustration growing. This was exactly why she wanted to be alone. She turned and looked at him. Her eyes narrowed. “No offense Rick but your wife and I don’t exactly see eye to eye. And I don’t want to explain to anyone why I’m washing Daryl’s clothes.”

Rick laughed. “They already know.”

“That doesn’t mean I want to talk to anyone, Rick. I’m out here now because I wanted to be alone. I wanted to do this by myself like I do every morning. I enjoy the time to myself.” She said it a little louder than she had intended. Spoke a little more harshly than she had meant to, but the polite southern cop never let up. Wanting everyone to get along. Wanting everyone to be a happy little community. He didn’t understand that she could be civilized and not be their friend. 

He held up his hands. It had never been his intention to piss her off. He didn’t want to offend her. “I’m not gonna ruin that for you. You do whatever you need to do. I just want you to know that Lori wasn’t always a housewife.” She glanced up. This hadn’t been where she believed the conversation was going to go when he sat down. Lori Grimes, Queen of the World, was the last person she wanted to talk about. “She used to be an accountant. Has a bachelors degree in mathematics. She was like you at one point in time. But then Carl was born. She wanted to stay home with him. And being a police officer made me want him at home instead of in a daycare somewhere. But that was our comfort. That’s her comfort now.” He nudged her. She looked so comfortable sitting their washing her partners clothes. She looked natural sitting in front of him. “It seems to me that you’ve found your comfort too.” Rick stood, leaning against the wooden railing. “Don’t hit me for saying what I’m about to say,” he paused, making sure he had her attention. “Daryl’s a good guy,” she nodded, showing she was listening. “And despite what you might think of yourself, you’re a good woman, Andrea. You take care of people. I know you’ve been gathering food and leaving it on the tables every morning. I know your the one doing all the fishing. I know and appreciate all the work you do around here that you don’t take credit for.” He watched her look away, a slight blush appearing on her face. “I also know that Daryl loves you very much. You’re really good for each other.”

Andrea rinsed out the pair of Daryl’s jeans she had been scrubbing and turned to the man that had invaded her privacy. He was still standing there, watching her. The blush grew a deeper shade of red on her cheeks. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be any good at.” She shrugged, almost throwing the pair of jeans into the basket. She couldn’t get the rest of the blood out anyway. “Domestic things. Things women are supposed to be good at. I can’t cook. Couldn’t before the apocalypse, sure as hell can’t now. I can’t clean anything worth a shit. Women are supposed to be good at those things, Rick. And I’m not. But I can wash out clothes. I can fish. I can gather fruit from the woods. That’s why I come out here.” Andrea looked away for a moment. Trying to put her feelings into words. “Lori makes it look so easy. She can watch Carl, check on Beth, do laundry, and somehow manage to help Carol with dinner.”

Rick crouched back down, smiling from ear to ear. “I’ll tell ya a secret. Lori couldn’t cook for shit the first five years we were together and she turned all my underwear pink.” He squeezed her shoulder before rising again. “She had to learn everything on her own, too. You both need to cut each other some slack. You’re more alike than you realize.”

As Rick walked away, Andrea turned back to the pants that had been in her lap. Maybe Rick was right. Maybe she had been judging Lori too harshly. Maybe they had been too hard on each other. They never had tried to talk to one another. Never had tried to understand one another. They judged each other on site. 

As she was beginning to finish, placing the damp clothes in the laundry basket, she saw Daryl coming from the woods and walking around the pond. His jeans were covered in mud. His bow thrown over his right shoulder. If she had to guess, he hadn’t been out there more than a few hours. It was early for him to be coming back to camp. Usually he would spend a good portion of the day hunting. Coming back after the sun had already gone down. She watched him as he walked toward her. Watching for signs of distress. Anything that would explain why he would be back before the sun was even up. But she saw nothing. No cuts or bites. Just mud all over the jeans she had washed the day before. Even as he sat down next to her, she saw nothing to say anything was wrong. 

Daryl nudged her shoulder, smirking at her. She couldn’t help but blush every time he looked at her. He made her feel like the most important person in the world. “I saw you got busted,” he said, trying to hide his smile. 

Andrea lowered her head. So much for her quiet morning. The rest of the group shouldn’t be up for another two hours and she was already answering questions and listening to teasing before anyone else was up. As if she didn’t have enough problems trying to avoid Lori and staying out of Maggie’s way. “Just Rick,” she whispered, thinking about the words that still rang in her ears. She had been so difficult to get along with for so long. No wonder no one wanted to deal with her anymore. She had just assumed Lori was a weak woman and was nasty to her for it. She was ashamed of herself. Her parents hadn’t raised her to treat people the way she was. Amy would hate her for being so angry with Dale. What in the hell was wrong with her?

Daryl watched her. Watching the gears turn in her head. She was calmer than he had expected her to be. She hadn’t wanted anyone to know she was coming out here. She hadn’t wanted to be bothered. She was bothered enough during the day. Dodging certain people when she could. Disappearing into the woods with him when no one was watching. That wasn’t the look on her face now. “He said something to you.” It was a statement not a question. 

She nodded her head, smiling a little. Looking out at the dark water. “Apparently, Lori and I were a lot alike.” She glanced up at him. Expecting him to be watching the treeline or the horses in the pasture. Instead when she looked up, he was looking directly at her. Focused only on her. Not watching for walkers. Not looking off into the darkness, but looking at her. “Lori was an accountant. Did you know that?”

He shook his head. He made it a point not to know anything about anyone in the camp. He didn’t care about their personal lives. As long as they didn’t get him killed, he didn’t care. But he smiled at her nonetheless. “You think you found a new friend?” Andrea didn’t make friends easily. She didn’t trust anyone easily. She spent most of her time alone as a child, reading. Had one boyfriend all through high school and didn’t date while in college. She had told him herself when they first started going into the woods together. She hadn’t offered the information easily. The first few days she didn’t say much at all. It took a few weeks for him to gather that much information from her. By the end of their third week together, he could tell anyone her childhood best friend, her first dogs name, and the name of her favorite cousin. Then their physical relationship started. He started it if he was being honest with himself. She had admitted to only being with two men before the world ended. She had been nervous and embarrassed the first few weeks. Covering herself immediately after they made love. Not changing her clothes in front of him. Now, two months later, she couldn’t care less. Him seeing her body wasn’t what she worried about now. It was everyone finding out she was in a relationship with the groups beloved hunter. She was afraid of more snide remarks and more backlash. 

Andrea shrugged. Her and Lori may never be friends. But she had developed a respect for what she did. What she gave up to take care of her family. She understood the sacrifice that it took for her to make that decision. Andrea had never had children. Had never had a husband to take care of. But she did a have a family she cared about. Family that needed her. She had decided to stay in Florida after graduating lawyer school, despite the job offers she had received from New York and Chicago. She had made the decision to stay near Amy. That was her decision to make. “Maybe a friend. Or maybe just a newfound respect.” She leaned over and kissed his scruffy cheek. She loved him. She loved that he worried about her all day while she stayed at camp with the rest of the group. He believed he could protect her from everything, even the snide remarks that Lori made in her direction. 

Daryl let out a sigh. He loved that she didn’t care that he had just come out of the woods. He turned before she could pull away. Catching her lips quickly. “Thank God, less fighting around here.”

She elbowed him in the ribs. “I could always start fighting with you.” she said, while batting her eyelashes. 

He laughed. Pulling her into his arms. Kissing the top of her head. “Fight over what? Who hogs the blanket at night? Cause that would be you.”

Daryl was right, they had nothing to argue about. They had been together since the Quarry. She could estimate that was over six months ago. And in those six months, they hadn’t argued about anything. They had disagreements all the time, but it was nothing like the fights she had with boyfriends in the past. “We really don’t fight,” she whispered, bringing his hand to her lips. 

Daryl nodded, feeling her body relax against his. He was just as surprised as he was. The two people in the group that were the most hard-headed and gave the most shit to everyone else, were the most loving to each other. They respected each other. Excepted each others mistakes. “Nope.” He nudged her away from him, picking up the laundry basket as he stood. Offering his other hand to her. “I’ll help you hang this shit before everyone wakes up.”

Andrea took his hand, kissing him lightly on the lips as she stood. Grabbing the old wash board and her spare towel. She could already tell it was gonna be a long day. Could already hear Hershel coming out to the porch. Maggie was already standing in the yard stretching her legs. Andrea glanced at Daryl. “What are you gonna do the rest of the day? You came back early?”

He grinned. Nodding for her to start walking down the dock, smacking her ass as she walked past him, loving the small gasp that came from her lips. He loved how red her face got when he did that. “Don’t worry. I got some more women’s work for you later,” he growled before nudging her back towards the camp.


End file.
